Each year, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler surveys NFL executives, coaches, and scouts to rank the league's top 10 players at 11 different positions. In 2024, San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk just made the cut, landing at No. 10 on the list. But his season was derailed early, and by October, his year was over—cut short by devastating ACL and MCL injuries.
Aiyuk remains in recovery and is not expected to be ready for the start of the 2025 season. Even before the injury, he struggled to replicate his breakout 2023 campaign, when he posted a career-high 1,342 receiving yards.
That combination of a production drop and a serious knee injury kept Aiyuk off Fowler's 2025 top-10 rankings. And his path back to elite status in the eyes of NFL personnel is far from straightforward.
"Aiyuk signed a four-year, $120 million contract extension with the 49ers last August but could not remain healthy enough to live up to it," Fowler wrote in a feature for ESPN. "Aiyuk had 25 catches for 374 yards without a touchdown before sustaining a season-ending knee injury against the Chiefs in Week 7."
Before signing his lucrative extension, Aiyuk had been the subject of trade talks. Trade speculation persisted even after his injury, though most teams would be hesitant to trade for a player coming off such a significant setback.
"Aiyuk has been the subject of rampant trade rumors this offseason, but the uncertain status of his return from injury -- Aiyuk did not participate in minicamp and could open 2025 on the PUP list -- potentially complicates such a move."
A delayed start to the 2025 season won't help Aiyuk's chances of reclaiming a top-10 ranking next year. Though reports suggest he's making encouraging progress in his rehab, the 49ers are unlikely to rush him back into action.
If Aiyuk begins the season on the physically unable to perform (PUP) list, he would be required to miss at least the first four games. The 49ers are scheduled to face the Los Angeles Rams on the road in Week 5. A short week that makes his return for that matchup unlikely.
The earliest realistic target for his comeback appears to be Week 6, when the 49ers travel to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Whenever he returns, all eyes will be on Aiyuk to see if he can regain his explosiveness and begin the climb back into the conversation as one of the NFL's top receivers.